Album Reviews

Hailing from North-Rhine Westphalia German black metal outfit Sumerian Tombs formed in 2019 as a solo project. The style of the band was developed from the demos 'As Summer Thrones at Night' and 'Conjuration - Awakening'. Sumerian Tombs found its muse in ancient Sumerian themes and mythology. The self-titled album amends the rawness of the music that was offered previously. The German quintet offers a parallel style of melodic black metal where they have redefined themselves as a vampiric black metal band.
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German black metal collective Chaos Invocation takes the left-hand path on the fourth album 'Devil, Stone & Man'. During their 18 years career the songwriting talent has grown strong and deep. Though they had already received plaudits from the fans of the genre, the sheer strength of the guitar department is now more focused than on the previous album 'Reaping Seasons, Bloodshed Beyond'. The majority of the songs fall under the category of the modern standard of black metal. The guitars give way to plenty of hooks and the vocals are excellent.
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The pioneers of the eight string era are back with another killer album, their ninth is called 'Immutable'. Meshuggah stills stands out of the masses with their immense extreme tech-metal sound that takes you on a journey of complex rhythms, dissonant guitar leads, spheric moments, a train full of musical experiences.
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Southern California indigenous death/doom metal trio Tzompantli is a rare example that brings the tribal spirit of the Native American culture in its most primitive way. the first full-length album entitled “Tlazcaltiliztli” which means ‘nourishing the fire and sun with blood’ is out via 20 Buck Spin on May 6th, 2022. In Mesoamerican civilization, a tzompantli is a skull rack used for the public display, typically those of war captives or sacrificial victims. The band recorded its first EP 'Tlamanalli' in 2019 containing four tracks compressed in unpolished punchy cavernous death doom style. Similarly, the new album is noticeable through a superb production enhanced by sledgehammer guitar riffs and crushing drums.
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Swedish death metal band Demonical has set a specific interval of two years between each of its studio albums. After pioneering the new generation of old school death metal, their musical signature has continued to remain flawless and their seventh studio album 'Mass Destroyer' sums up the experience that fans can expect from these veterans. The lineup is led by Martin Schulman (bass), Ronnie Bergerstål (drums), Johan Haglund (rhythm guitars), Eki Kumpulainen (lead guitars) and Christofer Säterdal (vocals).
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Around the turn of the century a vortex had opened up in space from which emerged three alien beings that would show the world how to successfully merge the intangible gas clouds of psychedelic space rock with that super massive black hole known as sludge doom. The monolithic manifestation that the three aliens left behind was dubbed Ufomammut by lack of a better name. Across eight albums their spaced out cosmic doom has mesmerized all those caught in its gravitational pull. From the crude stoner doom of ‘Godlike Snake’ and ‘Snailking’ over the singular elegance of ‘Eve and the sprawling twin stars ‘Oro’ all the way up to the more straightforward microverses ‘Ecate’ and ‘8’.
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Swedish black metal act Watain grew ever more sophisticated than its peers in the last decade with each studio album. Their craftsmanship shaped them into an archetypal personification of the unorthodox style of black metal. Throughout the 22 years, Watain has achieved mastery over its craft the long-awaited seventh album 'The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain' is a masterwork of demonic grandiosity. In this magisterial epoch E. Danielsson (vocals) P. Forsberg (guitars), A. Lillo (bass), H. Eriksson (guitar) and E. Forcas (drums) have refined their sonic architecture that manifests the rawer roots of bands like Bathory and Hellhammer.
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Imagine what the world would be like if animals would be the leaders of the world, well we have the perfect soundtrack for that provided by the out of this world instrumental trio equally named Animals As Leaders. To continue their further quest to conquer the world they deliver now 'Parrhesia', the first new one since six years. 
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Finnish newcomers I Am The Night is a supergroup band comprised of Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, Abhorrence), Janne Markkanen (ex-Omnium Gatherum, Locust Year), Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum) and Okko Solanterä (Horizon Ignited). The expression of the subtle nuances of bands like Dissection and Emperor are widely showcased in the band’s first-length studio album “While The Gods Are Sleeping”. I Am The Night's song composition infuses catchy rhythm guitars and atmospheric synth passages with each member presenting an immense effort into the album’s seven tracks.
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Maurice De Jonge is a name you’re bound to encounter rather regularly on these pages. It’s truly amazing how many different projects this Dutch centipede has going on. Equally remarkable is the sheer breadth of his output. From various black metal related initiatives like Golden Ashes or Dodenbezweerder across nineties inspired death doom all the way over to the highly experimental noisescapes of Gnaw Their Tongues.
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